For the 2018 mannequin 12 months, your native Blue Oval seller will promote you an India-built Ford EcoSport Titanium AWD, with a handful of choices, for $29,960.

Sure, that’s an uncomfortable MSRP for the funny-looking, tippy-toe-styled EcoSport, which Ford likes to pronounce echo-sport as if it’s a very athletic Toyota subcompact sedan circa 2003. However the entry level for Ford’s new entry-level crossover is way, a lot decrease. At $20,990 together with supply — a 16-percent low cost in contrast with the Ford Escape S — a 2018 Ford EcoSport sends energy from its 1.Zero-liter turbo triple to the entrance wheels via an ordinary six-speed automated transmission.

All-wheel drive and a 166-horsepower 2.Zero-liter four-pot add solely $1,500 to the sticker of the essential 2018 Ford EcoSport S, which comes commonplace with a 123-horsepower EcoBoost 1.Zero-liter producing 125 lb-ft of torque.

Whereas that primary EcoSport ideas the scales at simply over Three,000 kilos, when absolutely laden with all-wheel drive and a 2.Zero-liter Ford says the cute-ute weighs Three,327 kilos. Ford says the 1.Zero, which isn’t obtainable with all-wheel drive, can tow 1,400 kilos. The two.Zero-liter, which will probably be geared up solely with all-wheel drive, tows as much as 2,000 kilos. Entry-level wheels are attention-grabbing low-gloss magnetic-painted machined-face aluminum 16-inchers that lend an air of ruggedness to the EcoSport. Hey, don’t be so fast to snicker.

The EcoSport was initially geared in direction of rising markets the place roads are sometimes questionable and the terrain untenable. The EcoSport thus provides 7.eight inches of floor clearance, considerably greater than the Mazda CX-Three, Honda HR-V, or Buick Encore.

With a dearth of dimensional dominance, how does the 2018 Ford EcoSport compete on value?

Car

Base MSRP: Computerized Transmission & AWD

Buick Encore Most well-liked AWD

$26,790

Chevrolet Trax LS AWD

$23,395

Fiat 500X Pop AWD

$24,885

Ford EcoSport S AWD

$22,490

Honda HR-V LX AWD

$22,610

Jeep Renegade Sport four×four

$23,915

Mazda CX-Three Sport AWD

$22,300

Mini Countyman All4

$30,950

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport ES AWC

$23,435

Nissan Juke S AWD

$23,Zero75

Subaru Crosstrek 2.0i

$23,710

Each EcoSport save for the $27,735 SES comes commonplace with the 1.Zero-liter and front-wheel drive. (Each SES is an AWD 2.Zero.) The $23,900 SE provides SYNC Three, a sunroof, and dual-zone automated local weather management to the S. The Titanium, which begins at $26,735, is supplied with navigation, premium audio, leather-based seating, and 17-inch alloys. In between the Titanium and Titanium AWD 2.Zero sits the SES, with sport suspension, navigation, and blind spot monitoring. On the prime of the heap, a $28,235 2018 Ford EcoSport Titanium AWD 2.Zero might be optioned up with particular alloys, Ford’s keyless entry keypad, a Chilly Climate package deal with, for instance, a heated steering wheel, and quite a few small goodies. The grand complete is $29,960.

Assume that’s loopy? In accordance with Kelley Blue E book, the common transaction value for a subcompact crossover in August 2017 was $24,387, simply $395 lower than the ATP of a mean midsize automotive.U.S. subcompact crossover gross sales are up 10 p.c this 12 months, forming Three.Three p.c of the general market. To date this 12 months, the Jeep Renegade is the section’s prime vendor, however Basic Motors (with the Encore and Trax) personal the biggest chunk of the section: 29 p.c. Honda’s HR-V, up 28 p.c via 2017’s first two-thirds, is the fastest-growing subcompact crossover in America.

[Images: Ford Motor Company]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Fact About Automobiles and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.web. Observe on Twitter @timcaincars and Instagram.